Time for a real revolution

TOMORROW YOU'LL
have an opportunity to start
a revolution whose time has
come.

('m not talking about running
down the road throwing rocks,
but about the chance you'll have
to sack your MLA when he ig-
nores public opinion. And I'm
talking about the opportunity to
demand changes in the laws.

The idea is called initiative and
recall, and if you don’t vote for it
you should be sent to the Fraser
Valley and be made tc pick berries
for 10 years.

Our political system is out of
date. It’s a stage-coach process in
which we elect people who are just
as likely as not to forget our in-
terests and concentrate on theirs.

Nor can you blame them. Given
the chance, most of us would do
the same. But it makes no sense to
allow such a state of affairs to
continuc.

The two Morniag Wimps are
against referendum and recall, of
course. Which is not surprising,
given their powers of reasoning.
They have visions of dargerous
electoral mobs on the move.

The NDP is also against such a
change. Oh, I know Mike Har-
court said he was for it five
minutes after Rita Johuston an-
nounced the proposal. But he
could hardly put his tongue
around the words. And if you
believe he really is for it you will
believe you can get drunk on daisy
juice.

On this questio.1, as on so many
others, Harcourt is the same shifty
shufffer who was trashed by Rita
Johnston in that TV clebate. As
you may have noticed, he didn’t
respond when she mentioned ref-

:erendums.

People’s contro! of the
legistature is the last thing the
People’s Party wants, just as

was the iast thing all
those Sovie?-controlled ‘‘demo-
cratic republics”’ wanted. But
Harcourt could hardly say he was
against it. .

Doug
Collins

ON THE OTHER HAND

If (some say when) he gets in,
the idea will be dropped like a hot
potato. Or otherwise gutted. For
the NDP candidates have not gone
around saying how wonderful rel-
erendum and recall would be.
They’ve been quiete: than a bunch
of mummies about it.

All sorts of phoney arguments
have been put forward against the
plan.

We've been told it would be too
expensive, too cumbersome, and
too open to abuse. Also, govern-
ment shouldn’t be subject to the
“shifting whims” of the public.

I like that last bit, which was
penned by a Vancouver Sur
reporter. What we necd, apparent-
ly, is permanent whims. Like free
lunches.

The arguments against referen-
dums are not new. tn the [9th
century, when democracy was a
bad word, they were being used
against the universal franchise by
aristocrats and the family com-
pacts. Much better to ieave things

~ to those whe were used to power.

It is also said that MLAs and
MPs are closer to the problems
and better able to make proper
decisions.

That’s true in a way, because
sometimes they are the problem
and they can hardly get any closer

to it than that. But even if they
weren’t, why should we leave our
fate to their whims?

In any case, if what they are
doing is acceptable to the public
they have nothing to worry about.

Let me give you an example of
what could happen under a refer-
endum system: suppose that Vic-
toria, Socred or Socialist, wanted
to put the sales tax up to 15%.

All kinds of reasons would be
put forward “‘proving’’ how nec-
essary it was, But if we thought it
wasn’t, then down the drain it
would go.

There's also the point that they
would be much more likely to
behave themselves if the threat of
initiative and recall were hanging
over them.

Doesn't the same kind of threat
hang over corporation executives?
Would anyone dream of telling a
corporation president he’s there
for five years, no matter what? So
why shouldn’t the same thing ap-
ply in the biggest corporation of
all?

Edmund Burke the 18th century
British philosopher and politician
said an MP must vote according
to his conscience, regardless of
what his constituents thonght.

Yes. But ‘‘conscience’’ can turn
out to be finagling, betrayal and
sucking up to pressure groups.

There’s no good reason why we
should fet politicians do as they
please for five years. ~

Referendums have worked in
Switzerland for over a century. It
is the only genuine democracy in
the world

Why shouldn’t we have the
same thing?

TOA

ANEW MLA
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